From HGC Men 1, there were critical voices towards the club on Sunday after the historic relegation from the Tulp Hoofdklasse . International Seve van Ass spoke out. The same applied to David van Ass, who has been at the helm of the selection together with Floris van der Linden since March. “Too many wrong choices have been made,” said Seve van Ass.
Captain Van Ass stared into space for several minutes in the dugout. Although he led his team against Hurley on Sunday , he could not prevent HGC from being relegated for the first time since the creation of the big league (1973-1974). ‘I have fought for what I am worth, but you do it with the entire team. Or better said: with the whole club,” said the midfielder. ‘The club needs to look very carefully in the mirror.’
Seve van Ass announced his retirement from HGC. ‘I’m not going to play in the Promotion Class.’ Photo: Willem Vernes
Wrong choices were already made last season, but even more so this year. Seve van Ass is critical of HGC’s policy
Two years ago, HGC played in the play-offs for the national title. The downward trend already started last season with a ninth place. Bram Lomans replaced Paul van Ass during the winter break, who became national coach of the Dutch national team.
But this season things went from bad to worse. HGC was in dire straits financially. In Wassenaar they decided to reduce the men’s budget by hundreds of thousands. For that reason, Devindar Walmiki did not return from India after the winter. He could no longer be paid. For a long time, HGC was heading towards a merger with Little Switzerland, but that ultimately failed. The board wanted to, but a majority of the members did not. Also from a sporting point of view, HGC fell into a ravine. Bram Lomans and his assistant Sonja Thomann had to leave the field in March. After that the results only got worse.
“Wrong choices were already made last season, but even more so this year,” said Seve van Ass. He did not want to specify what he was referring to. But he did say: ‘Ultimately, as a club you have to support it if you choose top hockey. There were too many things going on in the background. I am not just talking about the financial problems, but about the complete picture. How top hockey was created. The policy, the selection, the coaching changes… There have been too many things that we as a team had to contend with.’
At the same time he looked in the mirror. ‘I could have gone to plenty of other clubs. It was my own choice to stay with HGC. So it is also my own responsibility. Moreover, as a team we did not deliver. In the end you get what you deserve.’
There is great sadness at HGC after the relegation. Photo: Willem Vernes
I have never heard the recreational sports noises within HGC as loudly as this year. They have won. Coach David van Ass
He received support from his brother David van Ass, who spoke to the press together with Floris van der Linden. He was also critical of the club. To express his feeling, he used the following metaphor: ‘As if you were drinking from a water source into which a little poison was thrown into each time. That’s what this season has been like for those guys. Things went from bad to worse. Then get that poison out of your body again.’
Every club struggles with the balance between top hockey and grassroots hockey, but at HGC that balance went in the wrong direction last year, says David van Ass. ‘I have never heard the grassroots sports voices within HGC as loudly as this year. They have won. Now that we have been relegated, things are of course going that way.’
If internally they are not on the same page, you cannot expect miracles from the players, he wanted to say. ‘The wrong signal has been sent to the players. They organize their lives for top hockey and then this happens internally. As a staff we have tried to keep as many issues away from them as possible. But apparently that didn’t work out.’
David van Ass after the relegation from the Tulp Hoofdklasse. Photo: Willem Vernes
‘The whole club is crying’
The blow of relegation hit hard on Sunday. Several players fell into each other’s arms, crying. There were also tears in the eyes of some supporters. “The whole club is crying,” said Seve van Ass.
Murphy’s Law seemed to apply to HGC this season. They lost to Oranje-Rood 9-0. Van Rotterdam with even bigger numbers: 12-0. Numerous players have already announced their transfer to another club in recent months. To top it all off, the team was hit by injuries: Lucas Veen and Willem van Campen missed the play-outs.
After the coaching change in March, HGC’s performance only declined further. About that decision, Seve van Ass said: ‘I want to make one thing clear. It wasn’t Bram [Lomans] and Sonja [Thomann’s fault. That has also proven to be the case. But we thought we were doing the right thing to break something. Floris and David handled it well. Respect for how they handled the situation. Overall, it just wasn’t good enough throughout the season.’
For Sam van der Ven, the match against Hurley was the last match of his career. Photo: Willem Vernes
I’m not going to play in the Promotion Class Seve van Ass announced his retirement from HGC
The team’s exodus has already begun. Talents Lucas Veen and Jan van ‘t Land leave for Bloemendaal. Karst Timmer and Casper Berkman will play for Amsterdam next season. Willem van Campen switches to Little Switzerland. The Spaniard Marc Bolto and the German Florian Scholten are leaving for HDM. Goalkeeper Sam van der Ven, Floris Benschop and the British Oliver Willars stop.
Floris van der Linden: ‘Those guys could easily have said: I’m quitting halfway through the season. But they kept fighting until the end. I respect that.’ David van Ass: ‘It was not due to the fact that many players already knew that their future lies elsewhere. But it was yet another scoop.’
In March, HGC communicated that the team will also be led by Van der Linden and Van Ass next season. “But after today I no longer know what the intention is,” said Van der Linden. ‘We have not taken this scenario into account. We are now going to evaluate the season calmly. Whether we continue is not just up to us. The club must want that too.’
Seve van Ass (32) did not comment on whether he will continue with hockey after the Paris Olympics. ‘But this is my end at HGC. You can write that down in advance. I’m not going to play in the Promotion Class.’
by Hockey.nl
